I have owned several 1990s Hondas and am very familiar with mechanical systems brakes, exhaust, radiator, etc. Straightforward, readily available parts and fairly easy to perform. Let's be clear—I just bought a 2000 Honda Civic LX with 130,000 miles on it. I also have a newer Dodge Caravan. I am a contractor. The 2000 Honda exterior looks ten years younger than its age. It has aged so much better than the van. The van now has ongoing exhaust, handling, suspension, power steering and other larger mechanical issues.

When I bought this car, I didn't need anything more than simple transportation to and from work and transportation to get me to family events. That's easy for almost any vehicle to do. However, as the years have gone on, I purchased a house. With that came home improvement tasks. This car has been able to haul full length trim and 2x4s from the store to my house. No sweat. It handles terrible winters equally well, and is also a pleasure to take on long road trips. All of this while still being very reliable. I haven't had to do much more than routine maintenance, and the few things that have been outside the norm were done when the car was well past 10 years old. Best of all, it's able to do this and return mileage of around 32 mpg in mixed driving, which is great on the budget. All in all, a wonderful, simple, small and easy to live with car!